TR Replies

Thanks for the update and report of that area.  Any clue about whether the lake is still able to be crossed?

author=Spencerhutch link=topic=13583.msg56686#msg56686 date=1244514069]
PS. Its pretty funny seeing the looks you get trying to hitchhike with an ice axe sticking out of your pack.

Haha--oh, the car troubles, much more eventful than the adventure itself! Broke the key off in the ignition, then started it with a pocket knife, only to discover that it wouldn't go...very fast. Made it to Lena Creek campground averaging under 10...

Cool pics. Good to see a report from Jefferson.

Well as could be imagined there weren't to many pretty pictures to be had but here is what I got.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spencerhutch/sets/72157619383325979/

This was definitely a good use of my weekend, taking into consideration that I got less than 3 hours of sleep last night and took 3 finals today. I felt like I could barely walk from test to test. Although an adventure is an adventure and I'm gonna take all that I can get!

PS. Its pretty funny seei...

Nice work!  That steep "trail" approach certainly makes the turns well-earned (especially when carrying overnight gear up there!).  Bummer the weather/visibility wasn't better, but glad to hear good turns were had on the east face of Skokomish (Skip and I couldn't really see anything while skiing the upper portion of that face in a white-out).

FYI.  Kurt and I headed up there this morning to find the gate closed.  We stopped at the Ranger Station to inquire.  Evidently there is a culvert problem and a hole in the road that they feel could cause a collapse in the road just beyond the gate, hence it will be closed this week but may open by the weekend.

Lots of big avys on south side too.

Seemed like Mordor to me.

Thanks, Keith.  I was trying to capture what it is like to be there and so used just the natural sounds.  The views on that tour are so incredible.  The fantastic weather helped!

--Eli

author=Keith_Henson link=topic=13557.msg56573#msg56573 date=1244237836]
Very high quality video. Felt like I wanted to be there real bad. Nice

Was in there yesterday 6/7 messing around.   The valley is absolutely hammered with avi debris!  I've never seen anything like it.  Sometime over the winter every single avi path on the north side of the valley must have ripped with 100+ year force ripping out old growth trees from waaay up the sides of some of avi paths. 

As stated the last mile of road is buried in logs, debris and snow up to 30' deep the trail is not much different.

Well worth checking out if...

author=Big Steve link=topic=13572.msg56650#msg56650 date=1244474018]
How high up can one drive?

Couple hundred yards short of where the PCT crosses the road at Windy Pass.
Also there's a couple of minor washouts where one might nervously inch across in a lower clearance vehicle.

It was nice to see that you guys got up. Nice Job, Kristoffer!
Skiing by braille, with 50' visibility added a nice touch on Larrison Ridge :)
~Jeff

Nick, nice tracks on the third photo.

author=Scotsman link=topic=13570.msg56624#msg56624 date=1244414654]
Good call.
Just proves the old adage" you don't know until you go!.

Definitely a good call,
Sorry we couldn't join you guys, we spent the weekend volunteering for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon, a great local event.
These pictures are from an 18" powder day in the same area in March, 2007. It is a great area, glad yo...

author=blitz link=topic=13555.msg56607#msg56607 date=1244330260]
Gary and Jan,
that is wonderful fun!
bridge is open now, will need to get out there before it is all gone!
Alisa

Thanks Alisa,
We'll keep you posted on the opening of the Deer Park road. We will definitely be making a trip to Elk Mountain once that happens.

Gary and Jan

You passed us as we were applying WD40. We had our skis so slick that Ron was schussing over bare spots.

So just to clarify the road is passable to almost the end of the road? Which is not what the NFS site says. Sorry you had to abort.

Good call.
Just proves the old adage" you don't know until you go!.
Corn is in short supply this season.
I just came back from Chinook Pass and it wasn't corn but it was pollen saturated crap that was sticky even on the steepest stuff!

Thanks for the report.  Sorry you had to waste the time.

Awesome... I was looking at coming in via the Middle Fork for that last year -- nice variation.  Thanks for posting.

Gary and Jan,
that is wonderful fun!
bridge is open now, will need to get out there before it is all gone!
Alisa

I like the look of that thin line behind Eric in the last photo.  Good to see your getting out there and enjoying the goods.  Nothing like the Alps though.... 8)

I was up there today (6/6)- still good coverage to top of Sessel chair.  I opted to boot as opposed to skinning and was glad I had my AT boots vs snowboard boots.  There is a snowbridge above a creek at roughly 3800 ft.  Opted to avoid it on foot and crossed my fingers on the descent.  Decent skiing for a short trip to get June turns in and my dog loved the excuse to play in the snow.

We thought that the snow actually got better lower on the mountain.  Here is the theory - the snow up high is not as well consolidated since the warm temps had just started 10 days earlier, yet down low, it has been much warmer for longer with less new snow in early May.  So on a warm day like Sunday it is pretty mushy up high, where the snow down low is much denser already.

Great meeting up with you and Lee at the summit -- funny that we e-mailed the day before and met on t...

It's great to have a special place that brings back memories of someone. ;)

Closest tour to home is over an hour away, and we had the place to ourselves; post tour double hamburger, fries, and parfait takeout at McDonalds, eaten on a bench across the street from ProSki was American ambiance.  Not better or worse than Europe, just different?